USCIS has announced that, effective immediately, they will resume Premium Processing of H-1B petitions for cap-exempt organizations, such as institutions of higher education like Penn.
Departments are again able to take advantage of Premium Processing when submitting H-1b petitions to USCIS. H-1B petitions submitted to ISSS with a request for Premium…

Dear International Students, Faculty, Staff, and Department Representatives,
As you may know, a new Executive Order has been signed yesterday restricting visas and immigration from certain countries, again raising concerns for many members of the Penn Community. I write to provide details about the current situation and to reiterate our committed…

On Friday, March 3, 2017, USCIS announced that it will suspend Premium Processing for all H-1B petitions, effective April 3, 2017 until further notice. The option of Premium Processing provides a response to all H-1B petitions within 15 days for an additional fee.
The full announcement can be found here. …

Congratulations to Dawn Kelly-Norris from the School of Engineering and Applied Science for being awarded the first-ever ISSS Penn Administrator Partnership Award! The winner of this award demonstrates active partnership with ISSS and provides superior support for our international scholar population at Penn.
Winners of this award exhibit the following characteristics:…

Update (2/10/2017): On February 9, 2017, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the administration's argument and ruled against reinstating the entry ban. This means the 90-day entry ban for those seven countries is temporarily halted. However, ISSS still advises all foreign nationals to travel with caution.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On…